Pope Francis said on Wednesday that “it is an honor” to be attacked by American conservatives who want to bring down his pontificate, according to Breitbart News.
Aboard the papal plane en route to Mozambique, French journalist Nicolas Séneze presented the Pope with a copy of his new book, How America Wants to Change the Pope, which claims that moneyed American conservatives seek to “overthrow the pope and prepare the post-Francis era.” They reject the pope’s anti-capitalism, his stance against the death penalty, and his refusal to condemn homosexuality.
Pope Francis reportedly “listened attentively” to Séneze’s summary of the book and then remarked, “It is an honor for me to be attacked by the Americans.”
A papal spokesman later clarified that what the Pope meant was “that he always considers criticism an honor, particularly when it comes from authoritative thinkers and, in this case, from an important nation.”